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Adult Education

Adult Education at The Child and Family Development Center is taught from a holistic learning approach integrating the four components of a family literacy program: early childhood education, parenting, adult education leading to self-sufficiency and interaction times for parents and children. Additionally, critical thinking, creativity, and interpersonal growth are important goals for parents at the Center and are incorporated in daily lesson plans.

The curriculum includes Language Arts, Reading / Writing, Math, Social Studies, and Science, and instruction is delivered in both small group and individual settings. A GED goal plan is personalized to fit each student's educational needs, and standardized testing is used at regular intervals to assess progress and identify areas in need of improvement. Motheread / Fatheread, a family centered literacy program, is used to engage parents in their children's literacy development while at the same time improving their own literacy skills.

Students attend class Monday through Thursday, 8:30- 12:30. The program is free of charge to qualifying adults and students complete their GED courses at their own rate. Even Start staff provides ongoing support for students as they work to achieve their goals.

Adult Education activities are funded in part by a grant from AT&T.

Trish Scarry,Adult Education teacher, helps a student prepare for her GED exam.

At the end of the Spring semester Adult Education students spent the day at Folly beach with their children and friends.

Parent Education

Parents are expected to participate fully in the parenting program at the Child and Family Development Center. Parent Education includes sessions on topics of interest to parents regarding children's development. Sessions are offered also on issues that affect family strength and are areas of concern for our adult learners.

A second component of the parenting program is Parent and Child Interaction time. Sessions are scheduled regularly during the Adult Education four-hour block for parents to go into their child's classroom and interact with him or her around an activity of the child's choosing. Additionally, Family Fun Times in the late afternoon and evening and Family Field Trips during the school day are scheduled year round to give parents and children many opportunities to do fun things together. Literacy-based activities are planned by the teachers for parents and children to do at home before and after family events.

The final component of the parenting program is home visits by the Parent Educators at the Center. During these visits parents are introduced to books and literacy-based activities they can use with their children and also given an opportunity to talk about concerns and report on progress toward their personal goals.

Parent Education activities are funded in part by a grant from AT&T.

Yvonne Speaks, Parent Educator, meets with a mother and daughter to discuss their family goals.	Pat Eckrich, nurse and Parent Educator, helps one of her students choose a book for the next home visit.
During this Family Field Trip, parents and children posed for a group photo on the deck outside of the Charleston Aquarium.	Brothers and sisters were fascinated by the turtle and other marine creatures at the aquarium.